


Human

by vix_spes



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Mission Fic, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 11:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2466257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The role of Quartermaster encompassed a lot of things but the job Q had never expected to fulfil was that of Double-0 comforter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sort-of fill for [this](http://007kinkmeme.livejournal.com/1142.html?thread=132214#t132214) prompt on the 007 kink meme. I just can’t write Silva though so it’s 00Q pre-slash.

It had been one of the worst missions since Q had taken on the role of Quartermaster and considering that he had been prompted due to an explosion at Vauxhall Cross that killed his superior and his first mission had seen the head of MI6 killed by a former agent. It hadn’t exactly been an auspicious start. The same agent had been involved in both missions and Q couldn’t help but be worried about the toll that this was going to take on Bond.

Just about everything that could go wrong had done so. It hadn’t taken long for them to realise that this was going to need all hands on deck and Q-Branch was full of people milling around trying to avert a disaster. It was so bad that M and Tanner were permanent inhabitants of the Q-Branch tunnels. Tanner was often a frequent visitor to Q-Branch, not just on missions but also due to his friendship with Q, while M was barely ever seen, even if he was more hands-on than his predecessor.

The mission had been in a hot country, somewhere that a member of the British secret service shouldn’t be, especially one as visible as 007. However, as infuriating as he could be (and as unwilling as Mallory might be to admit it), Bond was still the best that they had and, with his first in oriental languages, was the best choice. He had barely been in the country before things started to fall apart. Despite their best efforts and having checked everything for accuracy, the intelligence was bad and in an attempt to get accurate information from the contact, the man was shot sending blood and brain matter all over Bond.

It had then been a race against time and across country in a desperate attempt to both save the intel and the assets. It was never going to be a success. To give credit where it was due, Bond had done a formidable job as was expected, and managed to keep the assets alive and keep hold of the intel for three days as they raced across the country in an attempt to avoid the attackers in pursuit. Despite Bond’s best efforts, he was only one man. By the time they had reached somewhere that the extraction team could get to them, the primary asset’s wife and children had been picked off by snipers and the primary asset himself had been shot as the extraction team reached them. He had bled out in the back of the RAF plane commandeered to return them to England.

The minute they had landed, Bond was ushered immediately into medical only to be rushed straight upstairs into M’s office for a debrief. They had been closeted in there for hours, the only person entering and leaving being Eve Moneypenny bringing food and drink as Bill Tanner dealt with everything else. Inevitably, rumours flurried around, most of them in Q-Branch speculating whether James Bond was still worthy of his call-sign; if he was still capable of doing his job as a Double-0. That one Q put a stop to immediately. This mission may have gone to hell in a handbasket but, as far as Q was concerned, James Bond was still the best agent that MI6 had.

Q wasn’t supposed to have favourites amongst the agents but he did and they were 006 and 007. Amidst the cold-blooded killers that made up the ranks of the Double-0’s, the two brothers in arms had managed to retain both their humanity and their sense of humour. Or as much of it as they could. While some agents genuinely scared Q (he didn’t have a clue how 004 had passed through psych) and were horrific to work with on missions, he genuinely enjoyed working with Alec Trevelyan and James Bond; Bond more so than Trevelyan, as the Russian had a rather terrifying penchant for explosions, one that troubled even Q. They might’ve infuriated him with their tendency to destroy his tech and refusal to follow directions, but their sarcastic asides (and vitriolic Russian swearing from Alec) always livened things up. Besides, when they knew that they had pushed the boundaries too far, they tried to make up for it with gifts of top-shelf liquour and antique weapons for him to tinker with.

Glancing at a text from Tanner, Q frowned when he read that Bond was still closeted in M’s office. They were now verging on a six hour debrief and Q couldn’t help but worry about the toll that all of this was going to take on Bond. Q might have been the youngest Quartermaster in MI6 history but that didn’t mean he lacked competence. He had already been acknowledged as the best Quartermaster they had had and while everybody else posited various theories as to why that was the case, Q knew the real reason; the gents trusted him. Every single piece of tech that came out of R&D had been tested to within an inch of its life so that out in the field it worked exactly as it was intended to. Q never left the comms when there was a possibility he might be needed, even if that meant there were some months that he had spent more nights sleeping on a futon in his office rather than his own bed. He allowed agents to follow their own instincts, even if it meant doing something unexpected and it earned him their trust and respect.

However, as important as all of that was, the most important thing that gained him their trust and respect? He treated them as though they were human, not merely cold-blooded killers.

  
(~*~)

  
It was well beyond the end of his shift that Q realised Bond still hadn’t left the building. Bond was still stuck in M's office and there were no excuses for Q to remain in branch beyond his official hours for once. With no word about Bond other than grim-faced Tanner and Eve Moneypenny unable to hide her concern, Q decided to head for the range in the hope that M wouldn't keep Bond too much longer.

Pulling out his customised eye-goggles and mufflers and checking out his preferred gun and ammunition, Q wondered what certain agents would think if they saw him now. He wondered what they would say if they knew that all of their weapons were tested by none other than Q and Bill Tanner. Even more so, what their reaction would be if they knew that the mild-mannered Chief of Staff had once had a very brief career as a Double-0. A mission had gone badly and Tanner had been tortured for information that he had refused to give. He was rescued but the damage had been done and while he could still do everything he once had, it wasn't to the exacting standards demanded of the agents within the Double-0 division. Tanner had been cleared to return to active service just as M's former aide Villiers was transferring to MI5 and swiftly became the most competent Chief of Staff they had ever had.

Since Q had taken the role of Quartermaster, the man had also become one of Q’s closest friends and the two worked well together. Q might not have had anywhere near the physical attributes, not even close to Tanner, but he took a great amount of pride in the fact that his scores on the range were as good as any of the Double-0's.

He wasn't consciously aware of the passage of time but when he stopped having emptied several clips, there was a text from Tanner informing him that the debrief had finally finished and Bond had been cleared to go home. He was on mandatory leave and required to go through psych before returning to active duty but M was satisfied Bond had done everything in his power to save the assets and he had returned with the necessary Intel. Q assumed that Bond would have escaped as soon as he was dismissed so all he could do was return his gun, go home and just hope that Bond didn't try and find obliteration at the bottom of a bottle.

As he walked out of the range, he could hear a shower running in the locker room and just assumed that it was somebody who had finished their workout and paid it no mind. He was walking away when he just heard the sound of glass smashing and immediately turned back the way that he had come. Walking into the locker room, his glasses steamed up in seconds although he could just about make out his surroundings. The sound of glass smashing became obvious as he passed a shattered mirror, an abandoned tie and suit jacket and a small trail of blood drops leading towards the showers.

Q wasn't sure what he was expecting to find or even who but it certainly wasn't a mostly clothed James Bond sat on the floor, water streaming over him. Not entirely sure what to do, but knowing that he had no intention of leaving Bond alone, Q pulled off his glasses and cardigan and toed off his shoes before moving gingerly to sit next to Bond. He was soaked through in seconds but wary of moving, at least until he had a better idea of the situation. By the time the water had started to run cold, Bond still hadn't so much as acknowledged Q's presence so, with a fair amount of fumbling and cursing, because yes he was as blind as a bat without his glasses, he reached above their heads and turned the water off.

Bond had still to offer a single word but that didn't faze Q. After all, he had hardly come for a dose Bond's own special brand of wit and sarcasm. He got enough of that on missions and even when Bond was in the building and bored. He was simply here to ensure that Bond knew he wasn't alone and was more than happy to sit in silence if that was what Bond wanted. He wanted to do more, to offer physical comfort but wasn't entirely sure of the reaction he would receive so placed his hand on the floor in the narrow space between them and left the decision up to Bond. He was so surprised when Bond actually took it, entwining their fingers together, that it took everything not to jump. Eventually though, Bond spoke.

"I've been here before you know. This exact same position except I was the one giving the comfort rather than receiving it. The Casino Royale mission. The woman sent with me by the Treasury. She didn't know how to cope with the aftermath of a fight. But then, you must know all of this. Every other person in this bloody place does, even if personnel files are supposed to be private. Nothing's bloody sacred."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bond. Other than your test scores, I haven't read your files -or any of my agents files - I assumed that if there were things I needed to know you would tell me when you trusted me enough."

Q's words gained him an appreciative squeeze of the hand from the man next to him.

"The treasury sent someone on the mission to keep an eye on the money. Her name was Vesper Lynd and I fell completely in love with her, to the extent that I resigned from the Service. I thought she loved me. It was all a lie though. She had been compromised long before the mission even started. She betrayed me and she died in Venice in front of me."

"Bond ... James."

"When you've been doing this as long as I have the killing becomes second nature, you don't think about it. It's a job. For Queen and Country and all that. We rarely form friendships or relationships because we, of all people, know how brief life can be. I've lost the two great loves of my life to this job. My wife was killed on our wedding day and then there was Vesper ... makes you wonder why we bother. It's easier not to feel anything and not get involved. Field agents, especially Double-0's aren't exactly renowned for their longevity. We're never going to be tapping into our pension pots."

"Yes, well, that was before I became your Quartermaster. It's a shame you blew up Skyfall, Bond. I can just picture you in tweeds hunting, a dog to bring back whatever poor creature you've killed hunting or your slippers. Sitting in front of a fire with a dog by your side, a tumbler of whisky and the paper in hand. Surely that's the kind of domesticity that would appeal to someone of your age?"

His comment earned him a bark of laughter and Q smiled to himself. The mood soon sobered again.

"Losing assets never gets any easier though, especially when they're children. Even if it's someone that we've barely known for a few hours, it never gets any easier. For all that we're spies, trained assassins, I honestly think you're the only person who remembers we're human, Q."

"Exactly. You're human. And you've been sitting here for far too long. The water went cold long ago. You need a hot shower,  dry clothes, food and bed."

"Your bed, Q? Or would you prefer it if I scrubbed your back in the bath?" Despite the flirtatious words, Bond's leer was half-hearted at best.

"I'm going to ignore that comment for the moment, Bond, but for future reference, I'm nowhere near as easy as the majority of women that you've slept with. I'm also most definitely male. Now, up with you. I'm sure you've got some sweats here you can wear. You're not getting in my car dripping wet never mind my flat."

"Your flat?"

"Yes, my flat. I’m in need of a nice hot cup of tea and some food. I'd be amazed if yours has got anything in it other than alcohol, a bed and all of those pretentious suits you wear."

“You can call them pretentious or whatever you want but they’re a damn sight better than those plaid monstrosities you insist on wearing and, you can say what you want, but you know that I look bloody good in those suits.”

“Don’t be egotistical, Bond. Now, get up. I can’t move you if you’re a dead weight. You’ve got ten minutes and then I expect to see you waiting by my car.”

“Do you ever stop giving the orders, Q? I have to say that it’s quite a pleasant surprise.”

Bond stood, finally releasing Q’s hand as he did so and started to walk out of the shower area, only to turn back almost immediately. Q simply stood there, more curious than anything else, waiting to see what he would do. What Q wasn’t expecting was for Bond to lean in and press a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you Q,” were the only words he uttered before he turned back towards the door.

Q couldn’t help but press his hand to his cheek where Bond had kissed it as he watched the scarred back walking off into the changing rooms. Bond, having no modesty whatsoever, had of course stripped as he walked. He had no idea what had prompted that response from Bond but he forced himself to not let it distract him.

After all, Bond wasn’t the only one of them who was only human and Q was far too intrigued by him already.

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to comment on LJ, you can do so [here](http://vix-spes.livejournal.com/171597.html)


End file.
